William R. Jones, CEO of Solar Atmospheres, Inc. received the Heritage Award at the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) Fall Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 12. This award is given in recognition of the individual’s lifetime commitment to the betterment of the commercial heat treating industry with one or more notable accomplishments. Only nine people in the 78-year history of MTI have ever received this award.

MTI 2011-2013 President, Buster Crossley, presented the award by introducing Jones as an “icon in the world of heat treating.” He went on to say, “When you hear his last name, you know who is being talked about. He is a graduate of Penn State with a degree in electrical technology, with more than 40 years of experience developing vacuum furnace, and processing technology. He is a Fellow of ASM International (FASM), and received the national Eisenman Award for applications of vacuum technology for outstanding contributions in practical industry applications. He served as President of Abar Corporation for five years, and in 1978 founded the Vacuum Furnace Systems Corporation (VFS) to engineer and build vacuum furnaces. In 1983, he and his son, Roger, formed their own company, Solar Atmospheres, to make use of the technology advancements they had discovered. Mr. Jones holds numerous patents related to vacuum furnace design and application. He has authored numerous technical articles and papers for ASM, the Metal Treating Institute, and Industrial Heating magazine.”